Ain't That Love?
by idle hands 418
Summary: Follow Allie's life as she continues to go through trials and tribulations with her beloved Beatles and as fate drops a few surprises to those around her. Sequel to "Finding Allie"


**lol hey guys **

**Oh my goodness I cannit believe that I haven't updated this in over a year! You all must absolutely hate me! f anyone out there still loves me, know that I'm still writing and I'm going to get back to updating _ALL _of my stories. If you all want any specific one updated next, let me know in the reviews! So _finally_, without further adieu, here is the sequel to Finding Allie, **

**_Ain't That Love?_**

* * *

George stared into Vanessa's unwavering crystal blue glare and held Allie tightly. Vanessa kept her cold smile painted on her face. He narrowed his eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked. "Is it money? I'll give you money. But she's mine."

"No, no," Henry corrected. "The girl is ours—,"

"But she belongs to me," George said angrily.

"And," he continued as if George had not spoken. "What publicity we would get from our poor lost little girl. We've searched so long and just when we've found her, this cruel Beatle keeps her away from us. Isn't that a pity?"

"You son of a—,"

"Ah, ah, ah," Vanessa clipped teasingly. "Not in front of the children. Now Allie, _darling_, come to Mummy!" She barely touched Allie before the child began screaming at the top of her lungs. She broke into another fit of coughing and tears came to her eyes as George tried to calm her down.

"Daddy!" she cried. Henry stood up smugly and touched her shoulder. She flinched as if she had been burned and clung to George for dear life. "No! Don't let them touch me! I need _you_!" She began to hyperventilate and Brian was forced to step in.

"George, put Allie to sleep and we'll all speak like adults. Henry, Vanessa, your sons can watch television in the common room." George reluctantly pulled Allie out of his tight grip and laid her in his bed. She requested to sleep in one of his shirts so she wouldn't get scared. He obliged but she asked him to stay with her until she fell asleep. Charlotte came in suddenly.

"You go with them," she instructed as she sat in the bed. "I'll stay with her." He nodded appreciatively and Allie lay her head on Charlotte's chest.

As George emerged, Vanessa caught his eye. She smiled superficially as he took a seat next to Brian and his attorney and across from the Baileys.

"Allow me to be frank," Thomas the attorney said with steel in his voice. "You haven't any rights to this child. Her adoption was finalized months ago. You could be charged with child abandonment if you choose to pursue this in the court of law, granting you up to twenty years in a federal prison. Paired with neglect, let's say five more years. With a sympathetic judge, you could maybe get away with fifteen and a five year probation. Am I making myself clear?"

"Absolutely," Henry said patiently. "However, that is far from enough consequence to stop us from taking our daughter back. You see, my wife here is an actress. After losing our only daughter, she had the brilliant idea to find publicity as well as our child. When this hits the news, there'll be cameras knocking our door down."

"You mean to tell me you don't really want your daughter? You just want the fame?" George asked furiously.

"Oh, look! He's got it, doesn't he?" Vanessa laughed coldly. "Why would we want that thing back just as soon as we got rid of it?"

"For all we care, she could be rotting on the street," Henry said, shaking his head. George's fists clenched involuntarily. He knew he couldn't say what he was thinking. Fortunately, he didn't have to.

"How dare you?" Brian blurted. "How dare you say those things about her? Of course you wouldn't know, but your daughter is the sweetest thing to ever touch this man's life. All of our lives, as a matter of fact. I refuse to let you people talk about that child this way and, by the goodness of God Almighty, you will _not _have her. Get out of my sight!" Immediately, their sons were delivered back and the four of them were escorted out.

"Look forward to a lawsuit, sir!" Henry shouted. Brian slammed the door as Allie shuffled over to him. George looked at Charlotte who explained that the ruckus had woken Allie up. He picked her up and she wiped her eyes on his shoulder.

"Daddy, you're not gonna make me go back with them, are you?" she whimpered. He rubbed her back and kissed her cheek.

"Never."

The next week, the movie premiered. Emily wasn't able to go with George, so as he originally promised, Allie was his date. She held his hand tightly as cameras were pointed at them and fans screamed. During the showing, Allie sat between George and Miranda who shared the box of sweets she had brought with her. George smiled at her hysterical giggles and joined in her excitement when she saw him on the screen.

After the movie, everyone went out to dinner to celebrate. George even let Allie skip a main course and have ice cream as her meal. At the end of the night, about a dozen people came back to the hotel suite. Allie was sent to bed almost immediately while the men partied until almost four in the morning. Once everyone had left or fallen asleep, a young woman quietly snuck into Allie's bedroom.

Henry and Vanessa had concocted a plan as soon as they left. They knew that the new movie would be premiering soon, so they paid a woman to join the party at the restaurant. Then she would join everyone upstairs and when the partygoers (and more importantly the Beatles) were distracted, she was instructed to grab the girl and run down the fire escape to the park where the Baileys would be waiting.

The woman wasted no time. She tied her scarf around Allie's mouth to keep her quiet and hoisted the child over her shoulder. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she needed the money those people gave her. She climbed out of the hallway window and went down the fire escape. Allie began to stir as they clambered down the metal stairs. She was freezing in only her nightgown as they met the chill of the sunless morning.

"Daddy?" she mumbled as the woman got to the bottom of the stairs. She blearily peered behind her. She was alarmed to only see a woman's teased blonde hair as they ran down the quiet street. She tried to struggle or say something, but the lady held her arms and legs down tightly and the scarf was too tight around her mouth.

Three minutes later, they arrived at the designated park and Allie was quickly handed to Henry while Vanessa handed the woman a check for one thousand pounds. Allie screamed so hard she nearly choked. She felt her stomach turn and she thought she might vomit.

"Don't you dare," Henry growled as she gagged. He shoved her into the backseat of his car and tore off down the street. Vanessa made Allie lie down so no one looking through the window could see her. When she refused, Vanessa pushed her head down and stayed that way until they arrived at a small flat in the busiest part of the city.

"Sit down and be quiet," Vanessa snapped. She looked at Henry excitedly. "This is going to make us famous!" Allie cried as she sat on the floor paralyzed.

Back at the hotel, everyone was just starting to wake up. Miranda, Charlotte, and Belly left together and Ringo got up to put on a pot of tea. Paul went to wake Allie up, but he couldn't find her anywhere. He looked in the bathroom, in the closet, and even under the bed. He looked around for a sign of her departure, but all of her shoes, including her slippers, were still in the room.

"George!" he shouted. "Get in here! Quick!" George shuffled into the room and looked around curiously.

"Where's Allie?"

"I don't know!" Paul panicked. "Everything's still here!" George looked in the closet and saw all of her dresses in perfect order. Her shoes were in their neat little rows on the floor. The only thing unorganized was her bed. The sheets were still askew and the bow that held her hair back was lying next to her pillow.

"Bloody hell," he breathed. "Where's she gone? She wouldn't have wondered off without a note or something!" He scrambled through the objects, knocking them out of order.

"I don't think she left on her own," Paul said. "What if someone took her?"

"Don't be stupid, no one would take her," George replied shakily. "Allie!" He and Paul searched in everyone's room and found her nowhere. They told John and Ringo about the situation and the four of them called Brian and about seven others to help them comb the property. George had an odd feeling settling in his stomach. Maybe this wasn't one of her little impromptu adventures. Maybe something serious had happened.

"She wouldn't just wander off in her nightgown," John said as he glanced at the pouring rain outside the window. "She didn't even wear her rain boots. Something's wrong."

"I'm going to go ahead and ring the police," Brian said quietly. George sat worriedly with his head in his hands. Ringo clapped him on the back.

"Relax son. She couldn't have gotten far," he assured him.

An hour later, the police arrived with a letter and some alarming news. Allie had been taken by a partygoer, handed off, and had been missing for about five hours. George felt sick to his stomach when they told him that it would take a few days to track her down.

"I can't wait a few days—I've barely been able to breathe for the past two hours. I need her back _now_," he emphasized.

"We're doing our best," the officer said calmly.

While the police scurried about the city looking for her, Allie was losing hope. She felt just like she did before George had found her. Thirty minutes after they had taken her, Vanessa dropped her into a bathtub and began scrubbing her skin until it was pink and raw. She glanced at the scars on the child's back, shrugged, and doused her with water.

"Ouch!" Allie shouted. "That's too hot! It's burning me!" Vanessa gave her an evil look and poured more of the steaming water on her to rinse the soap from her hair. "When am I going back to my daddy?"

"You're with him now, you little twit!" Vanessa said incredulously. "God, staying with those men hasn't made you any brighter, that's for sure." She pulled her out of the tub and gave her a towel and her nightgown.

"I want to go back to my real dad."

"He _is _your real dad. And from now on, he's your only one." She left Allie standing in tears.

"Vanessa, good news," Henry said gleefully. "They've announced that she's missing and it's only been a few hours! This is too easy."

"So later this afternoon, we'll come out to the press as her biological parents and say how heartbroken we are and that if the girl is found, we will fight to make sure she can't stay under his shoddy protection," she added. They traded sinister smiles and relaxed knowing that they would soon have the fame they wanted.

When the evening newspaper was delivered, George nearly ripped it apart. He saw through their façade on the front page and knew the truth. He wanted to offer them all the money or fame or whatever they wanted just to have Allie back.

Emily came back from her dance rehearsal to comfort him. She sat on his bed watching him pace anxiously. He ran his hands through his hair and over his face dozens of times. It was as if only he knew the truth of where Allie was and no one seemed to believe him.

"Emily, you're not listening to me!" he groaned. "They wouldn't take her because they want to have her back. They would take her for their own benefit."

"Personally, I think that you're overreacting." He immediately turned on her.

"So tell me, Em, if Hayley went missing and you knew where she was but no one would listen long enough to find her, how would you feel?" he asked snidely.

"You don't have to be such a bloody prick!" she exclaimed, taken aback. "I'm just saying that if you calmed down for just a second, maybe someone would get why you're so frantic! All you're doing is lashing out and you're not explaining why you think they took her." He took a deep breath.

"Alright. Let me explain." He took about ten minutes to clarify why he knew that Allie's birth parents took her. They went to the police who in turn relayed that the kidnappers were demanding ten thousand pounds for Allie's return.

"To have her back by tomorrow morning, they've anonymously written out demands. We've verified that this letter is from the kidnapper. They had your daughter mark the page with her thumbprint." The officer handed him a piece of paper that made his blood boil.

_To have your dear daughter home, safe and sound, by tomorrow morning, please complete the following:_

_Fill out one (1) check for ten thousand pounds, left under large oak tree in southeast corner of Hyde Park._

_Promote and endorse next two (2) plays opening at London's Earl's Court Theatre._

_Paperwork verifying that no charges will be pressed._

_If any of these demands are not met in six days, we cannot guarantee Allison's safe return, unharmed condition, and unaffected health._

_If you should choose to abide by these guidelines, Allison will be in an empty flat on Kensington High Street at the time in which our demands should be filled._

_Please decide quickly Mr. Harrison—your child is becoming distraught._

At the end of the letter, there was an inky thumbprint and a few rusty colored smudges of blood. He shoved the letter back into the officer's hands furiously.

"Do whatever it takes. I want her back," he yelled. He stormed into his room and Emily trotted behind him after she apologized to the cop for George's behavior. He slammed the door before she could enter his room.

"George? Georgie, open the door, love," she pleaded. "I don't think you should be alone right now."

"Piss off!"

"Fine. Then don't ring me the next time you don't want to sleep alone. I won't be as quick to respond next time." She pulled her coat on angrily. "And maybe instead of moping and expecting everything to work out without your help, you should get out there and look for your own kid. Stop being such a bloody prick." With a final kick to his door, she rushed out of the hotel and went back to her own home.

George waited in his room for over an hour after Emily left before finally taking initiative to get Allie back. He instructed the police officers to keep a close guard on Kensington High Street and to close ranks at Hyde Park. He wanted his baby back, and then he wanted those people locked up.

He wrote out the check as a decoy and put the signed (but not notarized) charge release forms in a large envelope then gave it to an officer. After the cop put the money and forms in the designated spot, there was nothing else to do but wait.

Allie's parents did not return her like they promised and instead the search went on for days. Paul, John, and Ringo went home for a few days to pack clothes so they could stay in London longer. George stayed in the hotel suite with Brian day and night just in case any news came in. On the fourth day of the search, there was a call to the line set up for the police. Everyone's head snapped to the phone and they all knew who it was—the kidnappers. They said that Allie was begging to hear her father's voice and maybe that would make them hurry a bit faster. George, desperate, yanked the receiver from the officer and pressed it to his ear.

"Daddy?" Allie cried.

"Allie, darling! You're alright?"

"No!"

"What happened?"

"They're hurting me!" There was a pause and a sharp smack in the background. "They said that if you don't do what they said, they'll hurt me so much that you'll never see me again."

"I'll see you. I promise," he said as a pain shot through his heart. "Even if I have to steal you."

"What if you don't?" she whimpered.

"I will. But if I don't, I want you to know that I won't ever stop loving you, okay? No matter what they tell you."

"We won't see each other anymore, Daddy. They said so." The fear that struck him dizzied him to a point of immobility.

"Yes we will, lamb," he assured her. "Keep looking at the stars—we see the same ones. Remember? We see the same stars and the same moon and the same sun."

"Daddy, please find me!" she begged him. "Don't give up!"

"I promise I won't!" he said quickly. "Don't ever think I will! I'll look for you until the day I die!" He heard her scream loudly. "Allie! Allison, answer me!"

"I have to go, Daddy. I love you, please find me!" she sobbed. The line went dead before she could say goodbye. He was filled with so much rage and fear and frustration that he didn't know what to do.

"Jesus Christ, please find her," he groaned.

Word had gotten out to Liverpool. George's mother rang in tears and told him that the family would be up the following morning. He told her not to come down to London. He felt on edge and didn't want any other person he loved in danger. However, he agreed to her request of coming to visit as soon as possible.

The next person to contact him was Matilda. She forgot all about the awkwardness they'd had a few days before and asked what she could do to help. She rambled on and on about how worried she was and instead of stopping her to tell her that they could only wait, he lovingly listened to the sound of her voice that had been so absent in his life. When she stopped talking, he stopped dreaming and reminded himself that he was committed to another person.

"Thanks for your concern, Mat," he sighed. "But all we can do right now is hope and wait. Take care will you?" He hung up immediately and put his head back in his hands. The hours dragged by painfully slow. He paced and spoke on the phone with his mother about five times.

"I just want you to know that I'm so proud of you for being so brave during this time and that we all love our Allie. We'll do anything to get her back, alright?" she asked. He smiled slightly.

"Alright, get off the phone, Mum, before I start crying," he joked.

At midnight, after a show had been cancelled and fans had finished rioting, the police came to the hotel with a huge lead. They might've caught the kidnappers.

Vanessa stalked into a shabby, one roomed flat a block off of Kensington High Street. She made a small bowl of cold, watery soup and dropped it in front of her shivering child. She threw a roll of bread on the floor and stared at her.

"Well?" she snapped. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I'm freezing," she cried. "My chest hurts and I can't breathe from where you kicked me!" Vanessa smacked her back with the wooden spoon she used to stir the soup. "_Ouch!_"

"Shut your bloody mouth!" she shouted. Allie flinched and shrunk into the corner. Her back ached as she shook in fear. "If I hear another word of your whining, by the time you come to, girl, you're going to need a new haircut. You understand me?"

"Yes," she whimpered.

"I asked you a question! Allison!"

"Yes, ma'am," she cried.

"That's better. We're leaving tonight after we get the money. You'd better pray that your Beatles have the brains to get here before we leave." She left and triple locked the doors.

"I want my daddy!" she started screaming. As she cried, she couldn't stop calling out for George. "I want my daddy! I want my dad!"

At that point, a few passersby heard the desperate wailing. They heard her struggling and someone finally rang the police. Henry caught wind of the situation and quickly went to collect her. He grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the back door of the building as police started to show up.

"You think you're clever?" he asked as he towed her into the apartment building that was originally designated. "You think a stunt like that'll get you out of here? You'll wait until they do what we said. One more word and I'll have your damn ears ringing."

She laid down on the hardwood floor and fell asleep crying. She didn't even hear the police sirens until Henry picked her up by her arm and started running.

"Help!" she screamed. "Help me!"

"Allison, you with your fucking mouth! One more word and you'll never see that George again. I can promise you that," he growled. She instantly shut her mouth and prayed that George would find her. Henry threw her in a car, but the entire street was blocked off. "Look what you've done! We're going to go to jail!"

"Henry—,"

"Vanessa, I'm taking control. We're not going to be put away." He pressed the gas pedal to the ground and sped off toward the police cars.

"Henry!" Vanessa shrieked. The car hit a bump and Allie was flung onto the floor. She yanked at the door handle desperately as Henry sped off down the street. The last thing she heard before she shut her eyes was Vanessa's bloodcurdling screams and a loud crash.

Finally, George got the news that he was waiting for.

"We've got your daughter."

"Where is she? Is she alright?" he panicked. The police officer traded a grave glance with Brian. "What? _What?"_

"She was in a car crash, George," Brian explained quietly. "She's in the hospital and they're not sure that she's going to survive. It looks like she won't make it through the night."


End file.
